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‎An investigative journalist is a journalist who specializes in investigative journalism. Investigative journalism is a specialized form of journalism that goes beyond usual journalism. Because the work of an investigative journalist goes beyond that of a usual journalist, investigative journalism is also called investigative or research journalism. An investigative journalist can spend months researching before he or she has a complete and newsworthy news story. An investigative journalist therefore looks for important facts and figures behind news topics or other topics that can potentially have a major impact. The profession of investigative journalist cannot simply be compared to the profession of journalist, because an investigative journalist uses a different working method than a journalist. This difference is mainly in the detective work that the investigative journalist has to carry out. An investigative journalist will generally spend a lot of time checking and analyzing information or figures. The profession of investigative journalist does not occur within all media companies, because it is generally only the larger media companies that use investigative journalists. Think of national newspapers or national television broadcasters. The profession of investigative journalist should also be seen as fairly general, because an investigative journalist can also be specialized in certain subjects. As an investigative journalist, you are briefly responsible for in-depth research into news facts that cannot simply be uncovered in any other way. This usually involves investigations into major cases, such as possible corruption scandals, crimes or mismanagement by administrators. An important point in investigative journalism is the verification of data, so that a correct representation of facts can be given.‎

‎An investigative journalist is therefore specialized in investigative journalism, which goes beyond usual journalism. This usually concerns backgrounds and revelations, which do not come to light in any other way. It is the investigative journalist who makes these kinds of revelations possible together with the ‎‎newsroom‎‎. The disclosure of data is central to this. In general, an investigative journalist will deal with the big issues, which affect many people or are interesting in some other way. Think, for example, of ‎‎corruption cases‎‎, ‎‎tax cases‎‎, ‎‎crime figures‎‎ or ‎‎whistleblower‎‎ cases. In addition, there are now various television programs that bring abuses to light. These topics do not have to have a major impact on society, but they can be interesting for people. One of the most important characteristics of investigative journalism is that it is about information that is not just up for grabs. This means that an investigative journalist conducts lengthy and extensive research to obtain and verify relevant information. An investigative journalist is therefore also called a research journalist, because he or she has to carry out a lot of research. It is also conceivable that an investigative journalism will ‎‎infiltrate in‎‎ order to get important information.‎

‎WHAT DOES AN INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST INVESTIGATE‎

‎An investigative journalist generally only investigates big cases, which can have a major impact from a social point of view. Think, for example, of ‎‎aldermen‎‎ or ‎‎ministers‎‎ who have allowed themselves to be bribed by ‎‎lobbyists‎‎, or of crime figures that are too rosy displayed by the ‎‎police‎‎. An investigative journalist can investigate these types of cases in various ways, such as by ‎‎interviewing‎‎ people or by conducting data journalism. Data journalism involves examining analog and digital ‎‎archives‎‎ in order to compare data. Think, for example, of tracing previous statements in order to be able to confront people and/or organizations with previous figures or reports. In addition, data journalism relates to sifting through ‎‎social media‎‎ if it is relevant. An investigative journalist is not a ‎‎detective‎‎, but the professions do have common ground with each other.‎

‎DIFFERENCE BETWEEN JOURNALIST AND INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST‎

‎An ordinary ‎‎journalist‎‎ engages in general daily journalism, such as with short news items that are newsworthy, without conducting in-depth research himself. An investigative journalist, on the other hand, will conduct in-depth research and critically examine all sources and information. Exactly how in-depth an investigative journalist will work can vary per subject. As an investigative journalist, you can spend months working on one news topic. In some cases, an investigative journalist can be considered ‎‎a fact-checker‎‎.‎

‎WHAT DOES AN INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST DO:‎

‎TRAINING TO BECOME AN INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST‎

‎The most focused training to become an investigative journalist is the ‎‎Bachelor's degree in journalism‎‎ of about four years. A university study as an investigative journalist is also possible, such as the study communication sciences. During the study communication sciences, you will learn to investigate and analyse communication processes, among other things. In addition, various external ‎‎training courses‎‎ are offered focused on investigative journalism for experienced journalists. For more information, see also the website ‎‎Vereniging van Onderzoeksjournalisten (VVOJ).‎‎ Accounting is ‎‎also‎‎ important as an entrepreneur.‎

‎COMPANIES WHERE AN INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST CAN WORK‎

‎An investigative journalist generally works for the larger newsrooms, such as national newspaper publishers or ‎‎television broadcasters‎‎. The major ‎‎news websites‎‎ can also employ investigative journalists. An investigative journalist can also work as a freelancer and work for various clients. The well-known investigative journalists can also have a double function as ‎‎a presenter‎‎ for a television program. As described earlier, investigative journalists generally only work for the larger media companies, which also have sufficient budget to be able to conduct investigative journalism in a good way.‎

‎COMPETENCES INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST‎

‎As an investigative journalist, the most important competence is your critical attitude, because facts and figures must be correct. In addition, it is important that you are independently able to carry out in-depth research. In short, we can say that the profession of investigative journalist comes down to good ‎‎communication‎‎ skills, because in most cases you have to interview many different people. This also means being able to think of and ask the right questions to the right people. Independence must also be regarded as an important competence. Generally important words are analytical, integrity, ‎‎planning‎‎, perseverance, ‎‎research‎‎, performance, ‎‎motivation‎‎, ethics, performance, collaboration, ‎‎networking‎‎, passion, courage and ‎‎stress resistance‎‎. As an investigative journalist, you also have to deal with fixed professional competences.‎

‎LABOUR MARKET PERSPECTIVE AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AS AN INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST‎

‎The job market perspective of an investigative journalist is generally good, if you have the right education and work experience. Work experience plays a major role in this profession, because not everyone can just become an investigative journalist. As an investigative journalist, you generally have a great responsibility, partly because investigative journalism costs a lot of money and time. The career opportunities of an investigative journalist should be seen in gaining more responsibilities, such as in being allowed to investigate major news facts. Working as ‎‎a program maker‎‎ can also be one of the possibilities.‎

‎TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT AND SALARY INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST‎

‎The employment conditions of an investigative journalist cannot simply be indicated, because you can work for different types of companies. The salary of an investigative journalist can vary considerably per industry or fame of the investigative journalist. But in general, an investigative journalist will earn a ‎‎salary‎‎ between 2000 and 4500 euros gross per month, depending on age, education and responsibilities. It is true that well-known investigative journalists with a good name can earn more. What exactly a freelance investigative journalist will earn is difficult to indicate, because that will depend entirely on his assignments and the work delivered.‎

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